


Two Turtle Doves

by Uncle_Riko



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2019-02-22 11:52:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13166364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Uncle_Riko/pseuds/Uncle_Riko
Summary: Maki dug deep, even now, in the heat of the moment, the words were still not coming to her. “…M-Merry Christmas?”





	Two Turtle Doves

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DoesEmily](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoesEmily/gifts).



> Tumblr Secret Santa gift for Emily! I'm sorry I couldn't get it posted by Christmas, I hope you'll accept it a couple days late! I was really tempted to write Yohariko (they're my jam tbh haha) but I really wanted to take a crack at NicoMaki, they were one of the first pairs I read when I got into the fandom! That said, I've never written them before, so it's a little rough around the edges haha, but I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you had a good holiday!

“Maki, I uh…I-I like you…ok!?”

Nico dashed off to god knows where, leaving an utterly stunned and confused Maki behind. She hadn’t even had the decency to explain herself, let alone wait for a reply. Maybe she was nervous? Maybe she was scared Maki wouldn’t like her back? Whatever the reason, it was so unlike Nico to just run away from things. She was always confident and brash, feisty and argumentative. Seeing this side of her was so different, it was almost…

…cute.

Maki walked home that evening positively aglow. The bitter cold held not a single candle to the strange warmth she was feeling. Perhaps it was to be expected, she’d just had a wonderful night at Muse’s Christmas Eve party, and with the following day being Christmas, it wasn’t strange at all that she’d be feeling excited. But she couldn’t attribute the totality of her feelings to the holidays, not when Nico’s words were at the forefront of her mind, ringing in her head like jingle bells…

_No, no, absolutely not._

Nico couldn’t _possibly_ have gotten her into this much of a tizzy. That kind of reaction meant that Maki might actually, maybe, _definitely,_ have similar feelings for Nico, which was simply _not_ ok. She was always being rude to Maki, always being annoying, always spouting that stupid catchphrase of hers. But in the end, Maki had to admit, Nico had her moments, moments where she was kind, moments where she was a responsible upperclassman, and even, begrudgingly, moments on stage where she looked beautiful, graceful even.

Had she thought of Nico as someone she might potentially have feelings for? S-Sure, who wouldn’t have feelings of admiration for an upperclassman…? But, as much as Maki revered Nozomi and Eli, and the second-years, her feelings for Nico were…different. They were frustrating and puzzling, yet warm and comforting. She couldn’t help but think of Nico every time she saw someone sporting those dreadful pigtails, and every time she saw a big sister holding hands with her younger sibling. She couldn’t help but think of Nico when she least wanted to, especially as she was about to drift to sleep, only to see Nico in her dreams.

It never occurred to her that these feelings might be romantic, that there was even a possibility for “something more.” The one to finally contextualize these feelings was Nico, as her confession made the redhead realize that, perhaps, these feelings weren’t meant to be bottled up and stored away forever. Perhaps they were meant to be embraced…and shared.

 

. . .

 

Maki lay awake that night wondering how she should respond, wondering what she should say when she saw Nico again. Amidst the whirlwind of thoughts swirling around in her mind, she failed to notice the footsteps creeping down the stairs, the jostling of the Christmas tree as presents were laid underneath it, the gentle crunch of the cookies she’d left behind.

Christmas was always a quiet affair at the Nishikino house. It was always just the three of them, Maki and her parents, but she treasured the time she got to spend with her family – given her parents’ busy schedules, that much had always been true.

But this Christmas felt different. Maki was light-years away from unraveling the mess of feelings she had for Nico, but she was certain of one thing: this Christmas, she wanted to see her.

 

* * *

 

It was tough, having to put on a facade for her parents. Maki was a spoiled rich kid, sure, but the last thing she ever wanted to be was ungrateful. As she unwrapped new clothes and jewelry she made sure to voice her gratitude, and reciprocate all the hugs and kisses as enthusiastically as she could. But to anyone that knew Maki, it was clear she was bothered by something.

“Maki, dear, you’ve hardly touched your food,” her mother gently chided. “Is something the matter?”

The first-year snapped out of her Nico-induced stupor, eagerly engulfing her food. “Nope…!” she managed to reply, shoveling more food in her mouth, “Everything’s fine!”

Her father cut in, more sternly than her mother, “A little more restraint at the table, young lady.” Maki stopped dead in her tracks, realizing how uncharacteristically unladylike she was being. “Now, would you like to tell us what’s on your mind?”

Maki set down her fork and knife, taking a deep breath. As much as she hated breaking tradition, she’d be remiss to just sweep the Nico situation under the rug, even for just another day. “Mama…Papa…I need to be somewhere right now…m-may I be excused…?”

“What’s this about, Maki?” her mother probed, worriedly.

“I-It’s nothing, really…!” Maki defended, staring arbitrarily at her plate, “I just…I just need to wish a friend ‘Merry Christmas…’” It was a thinly-veiled lie, though it didn’t have to be. Maki didn’t know what she was going to say to Nico, but “Merry Christmas” seemed like a decent start.

Her mother sighed, “Can’t this wait until after dinner—”

“—You’re excused.” Maki looked up to find her father smiling warmly at her. “Just be sure to be home at a reasonable hour. We’ll be sure to save you some dessert.”

Maki’s eyes widened, as she silently nodded, excusing herself from the table. She ran to grab her jacket and was halfway out the door when she paused, decidedly returning to the dining room. She bent down, kissing her mother and father both on the cheek. “Thank you, Mama, thank you, Papa!”

 

* * *

 

The streets were cold and empty, but Maki was anything but lonely. The colorful lights and displays seemed to form a path of veritable North Stars, guiding Maki all the way to Nico’s apartment. She tried, in vain, to rehearse what she was going to say. But there was not a single excuse she could think of that justified showing up in person at Nico’s doorstep, on Christmas Day, no less.  She could tell the truth, and say that she simply wanted to see Nico, but that was no simple matter at all, Nico would surely think Maki was teasing her; hell, the closer she got to the apartment, the less Maki herself even _wanted_ to see Nico.

But perhaps that’s where Nico’s confession would come in. It gave Maki just the excuse she needed – she was obviously there to give Nico her reply. And since Nico was _obviously_ agonizing over Maki’s answer, she’d be doing her a favor by coming over sooner than later. The only problem was, Maki hadn’t quite figured out how she’d respond to Nico’s confession. And it was, of course, at that moment, Maki still wholly unprepared, that she found herself standing at the door to Nico’s apartment.

Maki raised her trembling fist to the door, wondering if she could even gather the courage to knock. Fate chose to decide for her however, as the door swung open, revealing an unkempt Nico, dressed in her usual hot-pink pajamas.

“M-Maki!?? W-What’re you doing here?” Nico stuttered.

“I-I could ask you the same thing!” Maki snapped back blindly.

“I _live_ here, you idiot!”

“Y-You know what I meant!” It was then that Maki noticed the trash bag clutched in Nico’s hand. “O-Oh, you’re just going to throw out the trash…”

“Yes! Now if you’ll excuse me—”

“Wait!” Maki impulsively reached for Nico’s sleeve. “F-Forget that, I-I have something important to say to you…!”

“O-Ok…” Nico obliged, surprised by Maki’s sudden seriousness, “W-What is it…?”

Maki dug deep, even now, in the heat of the moment, the words were still not coming to her. “…M-Merry Christmas?”

Nico rolled her eyes, annoyed and possibly disappointed. “Can I go throw this out, now?”

Maki nodded her head instinctively, watching Nico disappear down the stairwell before banging her head against the wall repeatedly.

_Ugh, I’m such an idiot! Why can’t I just say how I feel, for once!?_

 

. . .

 

The third-year returned momentarily, slightly miffed that Maki was still loitering outside her door. “You’re still here?”

Maki grabbed her hand this time, catching both herself and Nico off guard. “C-Come take a walk with me…!”

“R-Right now!?” Nico spluttered. “I-I’m not dressed to go outside!”

“Well then change! We have to…w-we have to talk about last night…” her voice dropped to a low whisper.

_Oh, so that’s why she’s here,_ Nico thought to herself. But at the very least, Nico could tell Maki was, for once, trying to be straight with her. “Alright, alright, geez.” Nico unlocked the door to her apartment. “Come in, you can wait for me inside.”

The redhead stepped hesitantly into the apartment. It wasn’t the first time she’d been there, there really was no reason to be nervous. Her eyes wandered, scrutinizing the place once more; it was clean as a whistle, but even more jarring: there were no children running around, no music blasting…

…and no Christmas decorations.

“Nico…” Maki began.

The third-year was busying herself with a pot of tea. “Yeah, what is it?”

“Are you…are you alone on Christmas…?”

There was a momentary silence before Maki heard a reply, “…My mom and my siblings are traveling right now, so yeah, I’m alone.”

Maki had no response, she could only imagine – spending Christmas without her own family would be dreadful. She didn’t dare try to put Nico’s feelings into perspective.

“Here,” Nico handed her a warm cup of tea. “Let me go and change, I’ll be back in a sec.”

Maki accepted Nico’s offer to change the subject, sipping her tea gingerly—it was delicious. But that was to be expected of Nico, she was the responsible big sister who looked after her three siblings. She knew how to cook and clean and do laundry, things Maki herself rarely even attempted. Even in the absence of her siblings, Nico didn’t abandon her motherly touch.

_This must be one of those moments,_ Maki thought to herself, _where Nico shows her true colors._

 

...

 

Nico soon emerged from her room. She was wearing a pale-yellow dress with a salmon-pink cardigan. She looked impossibly cute.

“Y-You’re going to be cold…” were the only words that came to Maki’s rescue, as she kept her eyes transfixed on a now-frowning Nico.

“What’re you, my mom?” But as Maki winced, given the nature of her retort, Nico doubled back with a lighter gesture, offering a sarcastic smile, “It’s fine, something tells me our conversation might get a bit heated anyways.”

They stepped outside, needlessly looking both ways before crossing the empty street.

“Sooo, where’re we headed, Maki?”

The question barely registered to the redhead, who, all of a sudden, found Nico in such close proximity to her. “I uh…I don’t care…anywhere is fine…”

Nico lead them to the nearest park, which was, not surprisingly, just as deserted as the rest of town. They circled the edge of the park, wandering arbitrarily, finally finding themselves stopping halfway up the stone bridge at the heart of the park.

Nico leaned over the bridge’s railing, watching the steady stream flowing, just beneath a layer of freshly-frozen ice. “So are you gonna say anything, or did you actually just want to take a walk?”

“Look,” Maki retorted, accusatorily, “some of us like to think about what we say, _before_ we say it!”

“What’s that supposed to mean!?”

“Oh, you know exactly what I mean! Yesterday, after the party! Y-You said you liked me, but then you just ran off! What the hell?”

Nico flinched, not expecting Maki to go straight for the jugular. “That was…! I-I was…!” She brought her hands to her cheeks, attempting to stop her spreading blush. “W-What do you want me to say!? I meant what I said yesterday, so what more do you want!?”

“What does that even mean though, ‘you like me?’ That could mean a hundred different things!”

“Ugh, seriously, Maki!? What do you think it means!? It means I think you’re pretty and smart and fun to be around and that _I like you_!”

“B-But why? We’re exact opposites of each other!”

“Don’t ask me ‘why’, I don’t know! I don’t get to choose who I fall in love with!”

Maki froze. Had she heard that correctly? “‘Love?’ You love me…?”

“Like, love, what’s the difference—”

“THERE’S A HUGE DIFFERENCE!” Maki’s booming voice seemed to shut both of them up.

It was an important distinction though, at least to Maki. She definitely “liked” Nico, that much she could finally admit to herself. But these feelings, feelings that she was harboring and losing sleep over, feelings that made her angry and confused, yet warm and joyful all at the same time – could they have been “love” all along?

“S-So…how do you tell if you’re in love…?” Maki asked, timidly.

“What kind of question is that—”

“I-I think I may love you back...”

“You ‘think!?’ W-What does that even mean!?”

“I don’t know, ok!? Every time I see you, I only see this angry, childish, selfish little—"

“Gee, thanks—”

“I’m not finished…! Every time I get angry and try to push you away, I always end up regretting it! Because all I want…i-is to be with you…hold your hand…k-kiss you maybe…"

Nico hesitated. As ecstatic as she should’ve been, she didn’t want to make up Maki’s mind for her, put words in her mouth. Maki had to figure out her feelings on her own. “…Then do it.”

“E-Excuse me…? D-Do what…?” Maki stuttered.

“Kiss me. You’ll have your answer. You have my Nico Nico Nii Guarantee—”

“Ugh, s-shut up for a second!” the first-year interjected. “You want me to _kiss_ you…?”

“Well, technically _you're_ the one that said you wanted to kiss _me_ —”

“F-Fine, I’ll do it!”

“…Huh?” Nico was taken by surprise; she hadn’t thought Maki would actually oblige. “O-Ok then…l-let’s do it…”

The two stood facing each other, matching blushes adorning their cheeks, each waiting for the other to make a move. Their little game of Chicken would’ve lasted much longer, if not for the heavens deciding to intervene, giving them its blessing, as snow began to fall gently from the sky.

Maki appeared to be drawn into a snowy trance, her flustered pout slowly disappearing as she looked up to the sky with a look of wonder on her face. To Nico, she looked like an angel. And it had always been Nico’s dream to kiss an angel.

Not a moment later, Nico’s lips withdrew from the kiss slowly, a stunned and surprised Maki’s lips chasing longingly after her. The redhead was speechless, her blush soon returning.

“Nico…I um—"

The third-year brought a finger to Maki’s lips, silencing her.  “Before you say anything, I just realized I never said it back."

"...Huh?"

"Merry Christmas, Maki.”


End file.
